Snapshot
by SummerStarWatcher
Summary: Short snapshots of Tony and Ziva in their future relationship.
1. Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams

She lay there, quiet, soundly asleep. Her features were relaxed, her mouth hanging slightly open, allowing breath to be drawn gently in and out. Curled up, hands tucked beneath her chin, she was the sweetest thing he had ever seen. Perfect.

Just then, she let out a loud snore, and he had to stifle his laughter. That was his girl, never quite as sweet as she seemed. He snuggled a little closer, wrapping his arms around her still form, catching the exquisite scent of her hair. He slipped back into sleep with a satisfied grin on his face.

She woke with a small smile on her face, tucked into his chest. His chin rested on top of her head, one arm under her head, the other curled around her waist. She could hear the breath whooshing in and out of his lungs beneath her head, and pulled away a bit so she could see his face.

His mouth was slack, his face vulnerable like it never was when he was awake. She relished the chance to see beneath his carefully constructed bad boy façade to the caring, romantic man he truly was.

She wriggled her way back into his tight embrace, pressing her nose against his chest and inhaling the musky scent of his warm skin. A sense of quiet contentment pervaded her senses, lulling her back to sleep.

Unconsciously, he pulled her even closer, burying his nose in her hair and sighing as she molded perfectly to his form.

They slept peacefully until morning light, sharing breath, limbs twined together on the rumpled bed.


	2. Birthday

Birthday

She woke up to the sweet smell of cooking pancakes and padded into the kitchen in her oversize t-shirt to find him standing over a hot stove. He turned to her, and she had to suppress a giggle at the sight of her rough, macho man wearing a flowery apron and clutching a red rose in his teeth. He put down the spatula and pulled the rose from his grinning mouth, holding out his arms to her.

"Happy birthday!"

She dashed across the room and jumped into his arms, heedless of the cloud of flour that puffed from the apron upon her impact. He laughed and spun her around.

"Good morning, princess."

She answered with a kiss, long and slow, clutching his face to hers. He responded instantly, lips parting, tongue dipping inside her mouth, bringing a taste of pancakes with it.

She pulled away laughing. "You've been eating my pancakes!"

His eyes widened in sudden alarm. "The pancakes!" He let her slip lightly down to the floor and turned to tend to the hot griddle, keeping an arm tight around her waist. "I ate the first batch because I wanted them to be perfect for you, so I had to test them," he confessed, a sheepish smile turning up the corners of his lips.

She stretched up on her tiptoes to lightly kiss him again. "I'm sure they're perfect now."

"They'd better be. Hand me that plate now, will you?" he asked, gesturing to the counter behind them.

She twisted in his embrace, passing him the plate. He let go of her for the moment, in order to transfer the steaming pancakes to the plate. She gasped and applauded as he flipped one way up, and caught it neatly on top of the other on the plate.

"Sit down, milady, and have some breakfast." He swept out a chair for her, and she sat down, tucking her feet beneath her. "Can I get you some coffee? Tea? Juice?"

She smiled at him delightedly. "Tea would be wonderful, thank you."

"My lady's wish is my command." He set a piping hot cup of tea in front of her.

"How did you get it ready so fast…" her voice trailed off as she spied waiting cups of coffee and juice on the counter. She raised an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged, unashamed. "I didn't know which you'd want."

At this, she stood up and walked around to him, pausing right in front of him. She looked up into his eyes and felt warmth fill her body. She stretched up and wrapped her arms around his neck, still looking deep into his eyes as she whispered "Thank you" against his lips.

He kissed her briefly, then pulled back, ensnaring her gaze. He grinned. "Anything for my princess," he said.


	3. Roses

Roses

The flowers were red, velvety, and smelled like heaven.

She didn't know how he did it, but they were everywhere.

She woke up on an ordinary Tuesday to find a rose on the pillow next to her, resting in the now-cooled dent left by his head. There was another by the sink in the bathroom, another in the shower, one in her closet, and she found yet another rose on top of the coffee pot in the kitchen.

She collected them all into a bouquet and got ready for work, wishing he had waited for her.

Downstairs, she found a rose on her mailbox when she went to get her mail. Her neighbor stopped to compliment her on the flowers, saying how thoughtful and romantic it was. She agreed wholeheartedly.

When she got to her car, she found a rose in the door handle. Inside, one was woven through the steering wheel and another was in the cup holder. Her bouquet had now grown to nine.

She couldn't keep the grin off her face as she drove to work.

A rose graced her parking space.

In the elevator, there was another flower with her name on it. She picked it up and put it with the rest of her bouquet, burying her nose in the beautiful blooms and inhaling their sweet scent. She couldn't wait to talk to him, to thank him.

The elevator doors opened, and she hurried to the bullpen. Of course he was already there, sitting serenely at his computer, a small smile on his handsome face. She paused for a moment, simply admiring him.

He looked up and caught her gaze, his smile growing by the minute. She turned to her desk, and stopped short in surprise.

It was covered in flowers.

They were everywhere. On top of her computer, littering the surface of her desk like papers usually did, even inside her open desk drawers. There must have been several dozen of the, strewn across every horizontal surface available.

Mouth open in shock, she turned to look at him. He was full on grinning now, his eyes shining brightly at her. She put her roses down with the others on her desk and walked over to him. He stood up and pulled her into his embrace, taking advantage of her still-open mouth to give her a hot, lasting kiss.

When they finally broke apart, she rested her chin on his shoulder and whispered softly in his ear, "Why?"

"Just because," he whispered back, gently tucking her head under his chin.


End file.
